MADE.By You. For You. {@CHIxMPLS}

Tag Archives: steven

WARNING – SPOILERS!!! Pac Man, Back to the Future, and Blade Runner are only a few titles that make up the 1980s cinematic nostalgia trip in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, now playing in theaters. Based on the novel by Ernest Cline, Ready Player One follows a young man named Wade Watts who lives in a dystopian United States in 2045. Humanity, as Wade knows it, is plagued by a failing economic system, an ominous corporate-governing body, and a tainted outdoor environment, all the result of an energy crisis caused by global warming, corporate greed, and the depletion of Earth’s fossil fuels. Since the real-world is no longer a pleasant place to spend your time, Wade, like most people, spends his days in the OASIS, an interactive virtual reality comprised of games and puzzles from every video game, movie, book, or television show made primarily between 1980 and 1990, although there are a few exceptions. The OASIS is the mind-child of James Halliday (obviously Cline’s own doppelganger) who, prior to his death, left a hidden Easter Egg inside the OASIS that, if found, provides the winner with his massive fortune and control of the corporation running the OASIS, and that’s where Wade’s (or Parzival as he is named in the OASIS) story begins. Continue reading →

Anniversary celebrations became something of a staple at last years Tribeca Film Festival after audiences were treated to (and blown away by) a special 45th anniversary cast-and-crew reunion of Francis Coppola’s mafia epic, The Godfather. This year, however, audiences will be treated to not one, but two cast reunions from two equally impressive cinematic icons, Brian De Palma’s Scarface and Steven Spielberg’s Holocaust drama Schindler’s List. De Palma and actors Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer are set to reunite for a special screening of Scarface at the Beacon Theater on April 19th. The same venue will also host a screening of Schindler’s List on April 26th, along with a discussion panel with director Steven Spielberg and actors Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Embeth Davidtz. The 17th annual Tribeca celebration will also host Tribeca Talks: The Directors Series and Tribeca Talks: Storytellers with directors and actors like Alexander Payne, Laura Poitras, Bradley Cooper, Spike Lee, and Alec Baldwin, as well as a Tribeca Talks: The Journey panel highlighting Sarah Jessica Parker. Tickets for the 2018 celebration are on sale now.

Kay Graham (portrayed by Meryl Streep in Spielberg’s film) was the acting publisher of The Washington Post at the time. She inherited the role of sole proprietor following her husband’s untimely death by suicide. Graham not only faced a board of all-male stock holders who were ready to oust her at any moment, but also a more hostile-than-friendly editor named Ben Bradlee (portrayed by Tom Hanks), who reportedly informed her that he’d give his left nut to run the Post, himself. Shortly after Graham came into her new position, Martin Weil (Better Call Saul‘s Bob Odenkirk) was sent to meet with Ellsberg to collect the top secret documents in Boston and transport them safely back to Washington. Continue reading →

On December 1, 1983, director Brian de Palma (The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way) released his modernized version of Ben Hecht and Howard Hawks’ 1930s gangster drama, Scarface. While the original followed a charismatic Chicago mobster in the Prohibition era, de Palma’s version took the character to violent world of the 1980s drug trade in Miami, Florida. Fueled by Al Pacino‘s riveting performance and backed by an outstanding supporting cast that included Michelle Pfeiffer (What Lies Beneath, Batman Returns), Steven Bauer (Raising Cain, Primal Fear), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (The Abyss, The Perfect Storm) and Robert Loggia (Big, Independence Day), Scarface ushered in a new era of gangster movies far darker than Francis Coppola’s The Godfather series just a decade before. One of the primary reasons is because of de Palma’s direction. Continue reading →

On September 13, 1916, children’s author Roald Dahl was born in Cardiff, Wales. Although his career was focused mainly in print, Dahl’s career has made a significant contribution to popular film. The author is behind such classics as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, and Fantastic Mr. Fox, all which have seen big-screen adaptations. His career in the film industry includes several screenwriting endeavors. He wrote an early script for the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, and another for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, although both of these scripts were later reworked by other screenwriters. As if his scripts being thrown out and reworked wasn’t enough to make him steer clear of the film business, Dahl also wrote the initial script for the film adaptation of his book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Paramount Pictures, however, brought in a second screenwriter, David Seltzer, to write another version with the character focus falling on the magical chocolatier Willy Wonka instead of the young boy Charlie in Dahl’s novel. The title of the film was also changed to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to reflect the importance of the character. Continue reading →

This week’s Memorable Movie Moment takes us back to Steven Spielberg‘s shark-attack nightmare: 1975’s Jaws. This movie is the reason why all of our parents are afraid to go into the water. Jaws was Steven Spielberg’s breakout movie. It won 3 Oscars for Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Music, and was also nominated for Best Picture. All that, however, came with an extremely stressful production and a brutal film schedule that ended up expanding from 55 to 155 days. Needless to say some recognition from the Academy was definitely warranted.

One of the biggest problems was actor Robert Shaw (From Russia with Love, The Sting). Though he was respected as an actor, he was in a heavy battle with alcoholism. This caused high tensions on the set, especially with fellow actor Richard Dreyfuss (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mr. Holland’s Opus). Shaw would have a drink between takes, but according to lead actor Roy Scheider (The French Connection, All That Jazz) it only took one before he was already off the wall. This caused him to totally flop the initial take of the USS Indianapolis scene, which is today’s Memorable Movie Moment.

During the scene, Quint (Shaw) describes the events surrounding the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945, which carried the first operational atomic bomb for the invasion of Japan. In the initial take, Shaw decided that, since the scene was at night and the men were supposed to be drunk anyway, he would drink and do the scene. Unfortunately he was so drunk that nothing in the performance could be used. The story goes that Shaw was so ashamed he went to Spielberg to ask for another take, and the next day he delivered this stunning performance sober, and all in one take. Continue reading →

This week’s memorable movie moment takes us back to the first sequel to Jurassic Park, The Lost World (1997). Also based on the preceding novel by Michael Crichton, the film is the only Jurassic Park sequel to be directed by Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Bridge of Spies), although he has served as executive producer on JP3 (2001) and Jurassic World (2015). In fact The Lost World is the only sequel that Spielberg has opted to direct, outside of the Indiana Jones series. It was also his first time back to film after he took a leave of absence when Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List were completed and became box office hits both in the same year. Author Michael Crichton had titled the book after the famous novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which also features a mysterious island with dinosaurs and other strange phenomena.

Today we decided to take a look at some of the more accurate historical films ever seen on the big screen. Historical accuracy tends to be one of the staples of a great period picture, and God knows there’s plenty of historically inaccurate movies out there. So check out our list here on MADE of most historically accurate films and be sure to scratch some off your list if you haven’t seen any of the selections. You might even learn a thing or two in the process! Continue reading →

Writer, director, and star Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Iron Man 2) is finally seeing his highly-anticipated biographical drama Miles Ahead playing on theaters across the country this weekend. The film follows the career and come-back of twentieth century jazz icon Miles Davis, who, in the film, is approached by a journalist from Rolling Stone magazine looking to write a piece about his career and his influence on popular music. Cheadle co-wrote the project with screenwriters Steven Baigelman (Feeling Minnesota, Get On Up), and Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson (Ali, Pawn Sacrifice), and took on the lead role of Davis himself. Appearing in the supporting cast are actors Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Big Fish), Emayatzy Corinealdi (Middle of Nowhere, Addicted), Keith Stanfield (Selma, Straight Outta Compton), and Michael Stuhlbarg (Steve Jobs, Trumbo). The film also features a remastered soundtrack of some of Davis’ most memorable music. The trailer is available one more time here on MADE. Critics have thus far praised the film for Cheadle’s acting. They have not, however, been so kind in terms of his abilities as a director. Regardless, I would definitely recommend going to see this one if you get a chance; Cheadle rarely fails to appear in a worthy film, and Miles Davis was one of the most dynamic jazz-rock fusion artists in popular culture, so at least you’ll be able to hear some great music while you watch. Enjoy!

Just when we thought we thought it couldn’t get any worse, along comes Walt Disney. The major film studio, which is also now behind the Star Wars franchise and all of the upcoming sequels and “origins” installments, has just announced this week that director Steven Spielberg (Lincoln, Bridge of Spies) and actor Harrison Ford (The Fugitive, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will be reuniting for yet another Indiana Jones adventure. Indiana Jones franchise veterans Kathleen Kennedy (Back to the Future, Jurassic Park) and Frank Marshall (The Sixth Sensed, The Bourne Ultimatum) will also return to produce the film, which is scheduled for release on July 19th, 2019. There is no word yet as to whether or not Karen Allen (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc, Animal House) and Shia LaBeouf (Lawless, Fury) will reprise their roles of Mrs. Jones and son, nor as to who will be coming on to pen the script, but we’ll keep you posted on further updates.